Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1887-10-13
AN INTEREST IN LIFE.
How Existence Can he Made Attractive
In Spite Of D;scOuragements.


Half the illnesses and more tbsn
half the unhappiness in life come from
, the want Of some active outside inter.
! est-something to take the person out
of himself; chiefly though out Of her.
self; and give her things to think OF
beyond her own sensations-thingst to
sympathize with beyond her own vague
disappointments and shadowy desires.
The spiritual baroness of ego,ism aud
Of idleness makes life very desert.
where no green thing hourishes. W hich
no dew from Heaven rcfreshes. nor
living water rejoices. Self-centered and
unintercsted, life to such an one is bu!
poor entertainment for the senses;
and the deeper emotions and affection.
have no share therein. The Vdei OF
the day, with all its necessary c;rcum-
stances of food. and gradual wear
ing of the morning through the noon
to evening. and the sleep. which is
only the elimination of the lethargy
of the waking hours-is one long round
of WEAKNESS and dissatisfaction. Like
withered boughs which bear no roses.
not an hour has its moment Of delight.
not an action has its hope of Joy OF
fulfillment of pleasure. The dull day
creeps sluggishly from dawn to close.
and not a new thought has been
awakened nor Il new sensation aroused.
Marion in the "Moated Grange was
not more dreary than the man OF
woman who has no outside interest,
and whose life is bound up in self; and
no prisoner ever hailed the free air OF
Heaven with more rapturous gratitude
than would such an one if set in the
way to make that interest and enlarge
those boundaries. For we must never
forget that many things which look
like faults, and pass under the name
Of faults. are in realty misfOrtunes-
the result of conditions made for us
and not by us. and not to be broken
by such energy as we possess.
In this one word indeed lies the
heart of the matter. With energy we
make an interest for ourselves. in spite
Of the poverty of our circumstances.
Without it. opportunities of rich en-
joyment pass by unutilized. and we
let slip all chances for lettering our
fate. 1t is misfortune to be born
one of the passive. che negative. un.
energetic, who divide the world with
the active and energetic. Most things
in life that are worth having at all
have to be sought and pursued. if they
are to be captured and held fast.
Neither fortune nor pleasure knocks
pcrsistently ut any mans door. but
each has to be at the least looked for
up and down the street, and invited in
if it is desired to enter:ai either
Bat the unenergetic take no pains to
find these radiant guests. If they do not
come unbidden they do not come Mt all;
and the flowers and gems borne by the
sluggish steam on its bosom are left to
drift into the great ocean of things now
impossible. because Of the want of en-
ergy to seize them as they passed. The
energetic, on the contrary. are of those
who improve their holding: No mat
ter how poor the soil-how unpropi-
tiOus the snrroundings-they know
whence to gather rich material and
fertile seed for the better harvest
and the heavier crop. II
they are of those whose circum-
stances preclude the need of exer-
ton. they make some extraneous in
terest for which they have to work and
think. and in manner sacrifice their
and break up the deadly
of their self-indulgcnce-
that mOnotony which kills the finer
nature when INDUCED in without
break. and which makes the very
misery of the rich.
No matter what the interest so long
rs VIC make one for ourselves. From
art to religion. and from philanthropy
10 needle work. all is useful, if some
forms are purer and nobler than
others. Many people do very bad art
pain: pictures that are caricatures;
sing in voices to which tin kettles are
IS silver bells; write books, innocent |
If the very elements of composition
but all the same they have an interest
which has lifted them out of the dead |
" dizziness of the past. If they have |
20 higher vocation. and their powers
are not capable of attaining greater
'esults, it is better for them to use |
them en- these lower levels than no. ut |
all; and the world benefits. at least in
50 far that they are thereby rendered
nappier-with the consequent result Of
greater happiness radiatel on to
others. If they are well endowed they |
10 good work in itself. and the world |
IS the richer by the achievements
Chicago Standard.
Belgium is the great home Of
pigeon fanciers. containing. as it does,